New Mexico State University

Formed through a partnership between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and New Mexico State University, the UAS FTS supports the integration of unmanned systems into the National Airspace System. The UAS FTS collects data during unmanned flights in public (non-restricted) airspace to assist the FAA in the development of standards and regulations for UAS operators.

Located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, the UAS FTS specializes in unmanned systems flight testing and provides the capability to test several classes of UAS in a common area. The UAS FTS operates under an FAA Certificate of Authorization (CoA) that permits UAS flights in over 15,000 square miles of coordinated airspace in southwestern New Mexico. The airspace, which extends from the surface to 10,000 feet mean sea level, features a very low volume of aviation traffic and overlays mostly undeveloped government-owned land. The UAS FTS also supports high altitude flights up to and above 60,000 feet.